Key Takeaways:
Meta Platforms has a new subscription business that could generate more than $20 billion in annual revenue by 2030, Truist analysts said.
"We remain constructive on Meta as the company continues to outgrow digital advertising while diversifying into new revenue streams, including subscriptions," Youssef Squali, an analyst at Truist, said.
Squali maintained a buy rating on Meta with an $840 price target, implying about 44% upside from Monday's close. Shares of the social media company are down roughly 11% year to date. The firm estimates subscription tiers — Facebook Plus, Instagram Plus, WhatsApp Plus and paid Meta AI offerings — could attract more than 360 million paid subscribers by 2030, accounting for roughly 5% of Meta's total revenue.
Instagram Plus could generate about $10 billion in annual revenue by 2030, followed by Meta AI at roughly $6.5 billion, Truist estimates. Facebook Plus and WhatsApp Plus are projected to contribute about $2.8 billion and $2 billion, respectively. The subscription plans range from $2.99 to $19.99 per month, with Meta's AI-focused tiers at the high end.
Truist compared Meta's subscription push to Google's expansion into YouTube and Google One, which generated more than $35 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2025. Meta's recent advances in its multimodal reasoning model, Muse Spark, helped launch premium tiers including Meta OnePlus and Meta One Premium, which offer advanced image and video generation, unlimited voice conversations and a "Thinking Mode" for users willing to pay for higher compute limits.
Over time, Truist sees Meta offering additional subscription types tied to hardware, particularly Meta glasses, with added functionality such as storage and longer recording capabilities.
The subscription push gives Meta a second growth engine beyond its core advertising business, which still accounts for the vast majority of revenue. Investors will watch adoption rates for the Plus tiers in the coming quarters as a key indicator of whether the $20 billion revenue target is achievable.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
